NXT TakeOver: Vengeance Day Results - Winners, Grades, and Video Highlights
NXT celebrated Valentine's Day in their own special way, with a TakeOver event. How else would they do it? NXT TakeOver: Vengeance Day took place tonight, with five stellar match-ups for the WWE Universe.
Both the NXT Men's and Women's Dusty Cup Finals would take place tonight, along with three championship bouts. Finn Balor would defend the NXT Championship against Pete Dunne in what some were already calling a future match of the year candidate.
Johnny Gargano was also forced to put the NXT North American Championship on the line against Kushida. Gargano, the first-ever NXT Triple Crown Champion, was also the first man to hold the NXT North American title on three separate occasions.
Io Shirai won the NXT Women's Championship back at NXT TakeOver: In Your House in a Triple Threat Match. Tonight, she would defend it in a Triple Threat Match, and wouldn't it be kind of poetic if Toni Storm or Mercedes Martinez were able to take it away tonight?
On the NXT TakeOver Kickoff Show, Eli Drake, now known as L.A. Knight, was revealed as the latest signee for the brand.
We kicked things off with the NXT Women's Dusty Cup Finals. Dakota Kai and Raquel Gonzalez, the odds-on favorites for the tournament, battled Shotzi Blackheart and Ember Moon.
NXT Women's Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Finals: Dakota Kai and Raquel Gonzalez vs. Ember Moon and Shotzi Blackheart
Shotzi Blackheart went toe-to-toe with the powerhouse of the NXT women's division, Raquel Gonzalez. She was quickly tossed back into her corner, leading to Ember Moon tagging in. A tilt-a-whirl counter into a sidewalk slam led to Blackheart taking another shot, this time in a two-on-one situation.
Raquel Gonzalez absolutely dominated both of her competitors. Moon was dumped to the floor, leaving Blackheart to fend for herself. Once Dakota Kai entered the fray, though, the tide shifted. Blackheart nearly had a submission victory with a cloverleaf. Kai made it to the ropes, leading to the senton by Blackheart and a running knee from Moon.
A slingshot press by the former NXT Women's Champion earned a two-count. Blackheart and Moon tagged in and out, working over Kai's knee all the while. Kai struggled to make it to her corner, dragging Moon who held her in a heel hook. Moon overpowered her, bringing her back to the middle of the ring while never loosening her grip.
Kai and Moon traded kicks with their free legs, leading to Gonzalez rushing the ring. The referee didn't notice Blackheart tagging in, and forced her to leave. Moon responded by sending Gonzalez to the floor, again focusing on Kai's injured leg. An ankle lock counter sent Moon face first into the turnbuckle, finally giving Kai the chance to tag out.
Gonzalez came in and did what she's known for, absolutely demolishing the competition. Moon and Blackheart both took some nasty fallaway slams as Kai recovered on the apron. The Captain of Team Kick was ready for a tag, and was launched off the top by her partner for a diving clothesline.
Blackheart broke the pin-up and brawled with Gonzalez on the floor. Gonzalez countered a hurricanrana with a powerbomb into the plexiglass. Moon was left on her own, and Gonzalez held her in place for a vicious running dropkick to the back.
Moon managed to duck a clothesline, sending Gonzalez into her own partner. Moon followed up by launching Kai into Gonzalez's arms, following up with a leg guillotine that also spiked Kai in the process.
The Eclipse dropped Gonzalez, but Kai made the save by distracting the referee. Gonzalez picked up Moon for her powerbomb, only for Blackheart to return to the match with a missile dropkick. It wasn't enough for the three-count, and neither was the scissor kick that followed.
Blackheart and Kai tagged in, with Kai still clearly working with a bad wheel. Blackheart hit her spin-out kneeling facebuster for a near fall. Gonzalez tagged in but was unable to take down Blackheart. A Bret's Rope Sliced Bread No. 2 took Gonzalez down, and it would've been the end of the match had Kai not broken it up.
Kai was taken out with a suicide dive from Blackheart, and Gonzalez was left in the ring to face a series of tag team maneuvers. She refused to quit, kicking out at two-and-a-half. Kai attempted to break up their flow, leading to a nasty elevated crossbody.
Gonzalez chased Moon, but had her leg taken out from under her. A nasty modified STF nearly earned a submission victory, but Kai was able to recover and kick Moon square in the jaw.
Dakota Kai and Shotzi Blackheart were in, and Kai caught Blackheart with the scorpion kick/Kairopractor combination. The assisted Go To Kick rocked Blackheart, but it wasn't enough. Gonzalez sent Moon careening to from the ring to the ramp before sending her flying into the plexiglass. However, back in the ring, she was caught with a rope-assisted springboard leg drop.
Unfortunately for Blackheart, it was still a two-on-one situation. After Gonzalez dropped Kai from on high onto Blackheart, her powerbomb left Blackheart unable to kick out.
Results: Raquel Gonzalez and Dakota Kai defeated Ember Moon and Shotzi Blackheart via pinfall at NXT TakeOver: Vengeance Day.
Grade: A-